Sun Life Financial congratulates first recipients of Team Up Against Diabetes grant program

The Diabetes Health and Wellness Institute, serving Greater Dallas, Texas, received a grant for their Diabetes Health and Wellness Institute Healthy Weight Management Program, which delivers two curriculums: the Healthy Eating and Exercise Lifestyle Program (HELP), designed for at-risk adults, and the Group Lifestyle Balance Program (GLB), which supports any adult who wishes to improve weight and nutrition.

Dogs4Diabetics, in Northern California, pairs assistance dogs with insulin-dependent diabetics, with the goal of helping their clients live safe, full lives. With the Sun Life Team Up Against Diabetes grant, Dogs4Diabetics will be able to train a new dog and enable the pairing of a service dog with a diabetic in need.

Legacy Weight and Diabetes Institute, in Portland, Oregon, was chosen for its PreventT2 program, based on the CDC's Diabetes Prevention Program. PreventT2 is a year-long course for at-risk or pre-diabetic adults, helping them to improve nutrition, fitness, and lifestyle choices. In addition to the standard classroom setting, this grant will help them pilot the program virtually.

YMCA of Greater Hartford (Connecticut) received a grant for their Diabetes Prevention Program, which is also modeled after the CDC's program. The YMCA's program educates adults in danger of developing type 2 diabetes by merging diet and exercise with group lifestyle training.

Grant applicants are considered based on efforts toward the diabetes cause and on innovative approaches to wellness, nutrition, and obesity prevention. Applications are reviewed by a panel that includes Sun Life employees, business partners, and other health experts.

"We are thrilled to be able to help these great organizations in their efforts to address diabetes prevention, management, and awareness," said Dan Fishbein, MD, President of Sun Life Financial U.S. "Sun Life is a strong supporter and advocate of combatting type 2 diabetes, a disease which we've unfortunately seen become an epidemic in this country. We hope to see many more organizations applying to our Team Up Against Diabetes grant program in the coming years."

The application process is now open for the 2017 Team Up Against Diabetes grant program. Please visit www.sunlife.com/usgrants for more information and to complete an application. All applications must be submitted online and will be accepted through March 31, 2017.

Sun Life is strongly committed to fighting type 2 diabetes, having given over $17 million to the cause globally. In the U.S., Sun Life is a national supporter of the YMCA of the USA's Diabetes Prevention Program, and is expanding its support to help the organization bring the program to more communities across the country. Sun Life also partners with the Boston Celtics to support the YMCA of Greater Boston's Diabetes Prevention Program through the annual #SunLifeDunk4Diabetes campaign.

Also part of Sun Life's commitment to diabetes prevention, education, and awareness is its national sponsorship of the American Diabetes Association, its participation in several Tour de Cure cycling events around the country, and its support of the Association's Wellness Lives Here^TM initiative, which encourages wellness in the workplace.

About Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth products and services to individuals and corporate customers. Sun Life Financial has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of September 30, 2016, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total assets under management of $908 billion. For more information please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

In the United States, Sun Life Financial is one of the largest group benefits providers, serving more than 60,000 employers in small, medium, and large workplaces across the country. Sun Life's broad portfolio of products and services in the U.S. includes Disability and Absence Management, Life, Dental and Vision, Voluntary, and Stop-Loss insurance. This includes the acquisition of Assurant Employee Benefits in Q1 2016. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com/us.

About the Sun Life Team Up Against Diabetes grant program
The Sun Life Team Up Against Diabetes grant program provides support to charitable organizations focusing on diabetes prevention and management, as well as wellness, nutrition, and obesity prevention. Grants are awarded in $10,000, $25,000, or $50,000 amounts. For more information, visit www.sunlife.com/usgrants.

Media contact:

Devon Portney Fernald
Sun Life Financial
781-416-7151
[email protected]

SLPC 28015    12/2016    Exp 12/2021

SOURCE Sun Life Financial U.S.